List of All Articles with Tag 'sport'

Levi Colwill will not be leaving Chelsea this summer in spite of continued interest from Liverpool and Brighton, the PA news agency understands. The club are not willing to entertain offers for the 20-year-old defender, who starred for England Under-21s as they beat Israel 3-0 on Wednesday to advance to the European Championship final in Georgia. He is currently contracted to Chelsea until the summer of 2024 with an option of another year if certain criteria are met. Colwill spent last season on loan at Brighton where he made 22 appearances and established himself as a Premier League player as the Seagulls qualified for Europe. Brighton had been keen to sign the defender permanently, but PA understands Chelsea are not prepared to listen to offers, including from Jurgen Klopp’s side who reportedly made a fresh enquiry this week. It is also understood that Christian Pulisic’s proposed move to AC Milan is yet to be agreed with the two clubs still apart with their valuation of the player. The United States international is surplus to requirements under Mauricio Pochettino and has also been the subject of interest from Ligue 1 side Lyon. The French side have offered something closer to Chelsea’s valuation but it is believed the 24-year-old favours a move to San Siro. The club confirmed on Thursday that Cesar Azpilicueta has ended his 11-year stay in west London – with the 33-year-old reportedly having agreed a return to Spain to join Atletico Madrid. It means one of Pochettino’s first tasks as manager will be to appoint a new captain, with regular stand-in from last season Mateo Kovacic having been sold to Manchester City. Azpilicueta made more than 500 appearances for the club since joining from Marseille in 2012 and established himself as a favourite at Stamford Bridge, winning the Premier League in 2015 and 2017 as well as leading the side to victory in the Champions League in 2021. An FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League winner, he appeared in a club-record 13 major cup finals. Co-controlling owner Todd Boehly told the club’s website: “Coaches and team-mates past and present have trusted (Azpilicueta) to lead by example as captain. “He has done so immaculately on and off the pitch, something for which we are grateful.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Clare Connor recalls ‘fairytale’ creation of Women’s Ashes trophy 25 years ago British wild card Jan Choinski determined to return to Wimbledon Stan Wawrinka sets up Novak Djokovic clash in Wimbledon third round

The courts are finally dry at Wimbledon and the sun is even shining through the clouds at times

London police say a girl died when an SUV crashed into an elementary school on a very narrow road in the Wimbledon district of southwest London

Jun Endo grabs the attention right away

England Under-21s are in Saturday’s Euro 2023 final against Spain as they look to win the tournament for the first time in 39 years. The Young Lions beat Israel in Wednesday’s semi-final to reach their first final since 2009. Here the PA news agency looks at some of the focal points ahead of the final. History makers It has been 39 years since the Under-21s last won the European Championship. Then, it was back-to-back victories in 1982 and 1984 but the drought has not ended since. A 4-0 final thumping by Germany in 2009 is the closest they have got. Lee Carsley’s side can make history in Batumi on Saturday. Unbeatable England England go into the final having scored 10 and conceded none. They have not been troubled at the back with James Trafford, close to a £15million switch to Burnley from Manchester City, unbeaten. The final is a different matter and Spain will provide a sterner test on Saturday. They have scored 50 goals across qualifying and the tournament after thumping Ukraine 5-1 in their semi-final, but there will be a confidence and belief among the squad they can remain unbroken. A long season For most, including semi-final scorers Morgan Gibbs-White and Cole Palmer, their season started over 330 days ago. The new Premier League campaign is just five weeks away and while the squad did manage to get a break before linking up they will be tired, both mentally and physically. It all adds to the debate about player welfare and how much football players can manage. A balanced squad For a long time now the squad has seemed more than the sum of its parts. Previous Under-21 campaigns have ended with disappointment with teams containing Phil Foden, James Maddison, Jordan Pickford, Tammy Abraham and Harry Kane. This class have gelled and, while they are all talented players, they have arguably gone under the radar compared to their predecessors. Spain’s dangerman England will have to stop Braga’s Abel Ruiz, who will be out for revenge having lost the Under-17 World Cup final to the Young Lions in 2017. The striker has three goals and two assists for Spain in the tournament and scored the Euros’ fastest-ever strike when he netted after 20 seconds against Croatia. The 23-year-old also has two senior caps and came through the ranks at Barcelona before a 2020 move to Braga. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Fiery Mark Wood and Stuart Broad give England flying start to must-win Test Jan Choinski’s Wimbledon run ended by former doubles partner Hubert Hurkacz Mark Wood delivers one of the fastest Test spells recorded in England

London police say seven children and two adults were injured after a car crashed into an elementary school on a very narrow road in Wimbledon in southwest London

Oleksandr Usyk’s next fight has been made official, as the Ukrainian defends the unified heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois in Poland in August. Usyk, 36, will put the belts on the line against the 25-year-old Briton at the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw on 26 August. The bout came together following the collapse of talks between Usyk and WBC champion Fury, who were expected to clash in London in April. A fight between the undefeated pair, to crown an undisputed champion, is still on the cards, with Saudi Arabia the frontrunner to host the contest this winter. However, many in boxing doubt that the fight will materialise. In any case, Usyk’s focus is now on Dubois, who is the mandatory challenger to the WBA title, which Usyk holds alongside the WBO, IBF and IBO belts. “Ready for my chance!” Dubois wrote on social media. “I hope you are @usykaa.” Usyk simply wrote: “See you 26 august.” Dubois has a professional record of 19-1 with 18 knockout wins, while the sole defeat of his pro career came in 2020, when he suffered a fractured eye socket en route to a TKO loss to Joe Joyce. Last time out, Dubois recovered from multiple knockdowns to stop Kevin Lerena in December. Meanwhile, Usyk is 20-0 as a pro with 13 KO wins. The Olympic gold medalist most recently fought Anthony Joshua in August, outpointing the Briton for the second fight in a row. With that result last summer, the southpaw retained the unified titles that he took from “AJ” in the pair’s first clash. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Tyson Fury’s ‘game-changing’ return to be announced in ‘next week or so’, Frank Warren says Tyson Fury reacts to footage of Anthony Joshua using mattress as heavy bag Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder’s teams meet in London for talks over Saudi Arabia fight

The UFC featherweight titles will be unified this weekend, as Alexander Volkanovski takes on interim champion Yair Rodriguez in a main-event clash. The pair headline UFC 290 in Las Vegas, where Volkanovski will try to maintain his dominance at 145lbs, following a brave but unsuccessful bid to win the lightweight title in February. The Australian lost a narrow decision to 155lbs champion Islam Makhachev in Perth, at the same event where Rodriguez submitted Josh Emmett to win the interim featherweight belt. In the co-main event on Saturday, Brandon Moreno defends his flyweight title against a foe who has beaten him twice: Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno has improved significantly since those losses in 2016 and 2018, but this bout marks a difficult defence to kickstart the Mexican’s second reign as champion. Here’s all you need to know. When is it? UFC 290 will take place on Saturday 8 July, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The early prelims are set to begin at 11pm BST (3pm PT, 5pm CT, 6pm ET), with the regular prelims following at 1am BST on Sunday 9 July (5pm PT, 7pm CT, 8pm ET on Saturday). The main card is then due to begin at 3am BST on Sunday (7pm PT, 9pm CT, 10pm ET on Saturday). How can I watch it? The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass. Odds Volkanovski – 2/9; Rodriguez – 100/30 Moreno – 1/2; Pantoja – 13/8 Whittaker – 1/4; Du Plessis – 3/1 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Alexander Volkanovski (C) vs Yair Rodriguez (IC) (featherweight title) Brandon Moreno (C) vs Alexandre Pantoja (flyweight title) Robert Whittaker vs Dricus Du Plessis (middleweight) Jalin Turner vs Dan Hooker (lightweight) Bo Nickal vs Tresean Gore (middleweight) Prelims Robbie Lawler vs Niko Price (welterweight) Jack Della Maddalena vs TBC (welterweight) Yazmin Jauregui vs Denise Gomes (women’s strawweight) Jimmy Crute vs Alonzo Menifield (light-heavyweight) Early prelims Vitor Petrino vs Marcin Prachnio (light-heavyweight) Cameron Saaiman vs Terrence Mitchell (bantamweight) Shannon Ross vs Jesus Aguilar (flyweight) Kamuela Kirk vs Esteban Ribovics (lightweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More UFC rankings: The Independent’s pound-for-pound fighters list UFC schedule 2023: Every major fight happening this year Sean Strickland makes passionate plea for Israel Adesanya fight after dominant win Conor McGregor shoves Michael Chandler in the face amid coaching criticism What time does UFC 290 start in UK and US this weekend? How to watch UFC 290 online and on TV this weekend

Netherlands midfielder Jill Roord has returned to the Women’s Super League with a move to Manchester City, the club have announced. The 26-year-old, who was with Arsenal from 2019 to 2021, joins City from Champions League runners-up Wolfsburg on a three-year deal. The PA news agency understands City have paid a club-record fee in excess of £300,000 to sign Roord, scorer of 31 goals in 69 appearances across all competitions for Wolfsburg. She has played 86 times for her country, helping them win Euro 2017 on home soil and finish as runners-up at the 2019 World Cup in France. Roord, part of the Netherlands squad for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, said in a statement from City: “I’m very happy and it’s a very proud feeling for me to sign for Manchester City. “I have always thought that this was a fantastic club with lots of quality, and I’m super excited to start here. “I really like the way that they play, and I feel that it suits me perfectly. There’s a lot of quality in the team, and it’s a young side with plenty of potential which is very important to me. “I’ve always thought that the Women’s Super League is very competitive, so playing in England again is like a dream – I feel like I have developed a lot as a player during my time in Germany. “In my conversations with Gareth (Taylor, the City manager), I heard everything that I wanted to hear – we think the same way about football which is important, and where he sees me in the team was ideal – it is the perfect fit. “If you play for City, you compete for everything you are involved in and that is what we will be aiming to do – with the quality we have here, anything is possible so I hope that we will be very successful together.” Taylor said: “We’re really pleased to have been able to secure Jill’s signature and bring her to the club. “She has proven her worth in both England and Europe during her career so far, alongside on the international stage with the Netherlands – she is no stranger to success. “She is a player whose calibre speaks for itself with what she has achieved, and we believe she will be a fantastic addition to our squad here at City. “We’re looking forward to welcoming her aboard and working with her over the next three years.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live David Warner’s frustration at the hands of Stuart Broad continues at Headingley Mason Mount says it was clear ‘several months ago’ he was not in Chelsea’s plans Ellen White tips ‘proven winner’ Sarina Wiegman to lead England to further glory

There’s no hiding the emotions of heptathlete Anna Hall

Paris Saint-Germain has bolstered its defense by signing Milan Skriniar on a five-year deal

Major League Baseball's pitch clock has made games go faster, but players and coaches believe it also is leading to better fielding